World News

In this picture made available by the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, left, meets with the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. The archbishop of Canterbury held his first talks Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI since the Roman Catholic church's unprecedented invitation to disaffected Anglicans with the Vatican saying the two sides still want to press ahead for closer relations. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, HO)
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AP

Pope and Anglican leader agree on closer relations

AP - 2 hours, 32 minutes ago

VATICAN CITY - After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans.

Middle East News

  • Iran to hold war games to protect nuclear sites AP - 1 minute ago

    TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games Sunday aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily.

  • Gaza militants agree to halt rocket fire AP - Sat Nov 21, 1:13 PM ET

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas announced Saturday evening that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks.

  • Saudi: 4 pilgrims die of swine flu before hajj AP - Sat Nov 21, 11:54 AM ET

    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi health officials announced the first deaths from swine flu of this year's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, as four pilgrims succumbed to the disease soon after arriving in Saudi Arabia.

Europe News

  • British National Party President Nick Griffin gives a press conference on November 12. Spanish police Saturday detained 28 members of a far-right party who tried to disrupt an event held by a rival far-right group attended by Griffin at a Madrid hotel.(AFP/File/Georges Gobet)
    28 arrests at Spanish event attended by BNP's Griffin AFP - 30 minutes ago

    MADRID (AFP) - Spanish police Saturday detained 28 members of a far-right party who tried to disrupt an event held by a rival far-right group attended by British National Party leader Nick Griffin at a Madrid hotel.

  • Emergency workers operate in the flooded town of Cockermouth in Cumbria, on November 20. The flood-hit northwest braced Saturday for more devastation after river levels rose again and forecasters warned of more rain following unprecedented torrential deluges.(AFP/File/Andrew Yates)
    Rain-lashed Britain braces for fresh deluges AFP - 39 minutes ago

    COCKERMOUTH, England (AFP) - Britain's flood-hit northwest braced Saturday for more devastation after river levels rose again and forecasters warned of more rain following unprecedented torrential deluges.

  • Scotland's Chris Paterson kicks a penalty during a March 2009 match. Scotland claimed their first win over Australia in nearly three decades after a defence-inspired 9-8 victory in their one-off Test match at Murrayfield here on Saturday.(AFP/File)
    Robinson hails famous Scotland win over Wallabies AFP - 46 minutes ago

    EDINBURGH (AFP) - Scotland claimed their first win over Australia in nearly three decades after a defence-inspired 9-8 victory in their one-off Test match at Murrayfield here on Saturday.

Latin America

  • Chavez praises alleged terrorist Carlos the Jackal AP - Sat Nov 21, 11:43 AM ET

    CARACAS, Venezuela - Hugo Chavez has defended the alleged terrorist mastermind Carlos the Jackal, saying the Venezuelan imprisoned in France was an important "revolutionary fighter" who supported the cause of the Palestinians.

  • Reports: 101-yr-old Brazil architect back at work AP - Sat Nov 21, 10:31 AM ET

    BRASILIA, Brazil - Famed 101-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is reportedly back at work just weeks after surgery for gallstones and an intestinal tumor.

  • Reinaldo Escobar, the husband of dissident Cuban blogger Yoanis Sanchez, center, is taking away by unidentified men in Havana, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. Escobar was punched, slapped and shouted down by government supporters in downtown Havana. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
    Pro-Castro mob attacks spouse of top Cuban blogger AP - Fri Nov 20, 8:38 PM ET

    HAVANA - The husband of an acclaimed dissident Cuban blogger was punched and shouted down by a pro-government mob Friday after he challenged the presumed state agents who earlier roughed up his wife to a street corner debate.

Africa News

  • Giant puppets walk through a crowd attending on November 19 a flag-raising ceremony organized by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee South Africa (OC) at the South African Football Association (SAFA) in Johannesburg. South Africa plans to create special courts dedicated to handling crimes committed during the World Cup.(AFP/File/Stephane de Sakutin)
    South Africa creates special 'World Cup courts' AFP - Sat Nov 21, 1:20 PM ET

    JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africa plans to create special courts dedicated to handling crimes committed during the World Cup, aiming to speed up the judicial process, especially for cases involving foreigners.

  • Award-winning Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar gives a press conference in Arrecife airport on November 17. Haidar has declined an offer by Madrid to grant her refugee status following her expulsion from the territory by Morocco, a representative said Saturday.(AFP/File/Desiree Martin)
    W.Sahara activist refuses Madrid offer of refugee status AFP - Sat Nov 21, 1:12 PM ET

    MADRID (AFP) - Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar has declined an offer by Madrid to grant her refugee status following her expulsion from the territory by Morocco, a representative said Saturday.

  • South Africa's winger Bryan Habana (left) fights for the ball with Italy's fly half Craig Gower during their rugby union test match at Friuli Stadium in Udine. World champions South Africa ended their three-match losing run with a 32-10 victory against error-strewn Italy.(AFP/Damien Meyer)
    Springboks end losing run in Italy AFP - Sat Nov 21, 12:03 PM ET

    UDINE, Italy (AFP) - World champions South Africa ended their three-match losing run with a 32-10 victory against error-strewn Italy here on Saturday.

Asia News

  • Robinson hails famous Scotland win over Wallabies AFP - 46 minutes ago

    EDINBURGH (AFP) - Scotland claimed their first win over Australia in nearly three decades after a defence-inspired 9-8 victory in their one-off Test match at Murrayfield here on Saturday.

  • US Marines of 2nd Battalion 2 Marines of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade walk back to their base after a patrol with soldiers of Afghan National Army in Lakari in Helmand Province. Despite fierce public pressure to end the war in Afghanistan eight years on, politicians and experts on Saturday decried calls for setting an exit date they say would embolden the Taliban.(AFP/Manpreet Romana)
    Setting Afghan exit date defeatist: defense panel AFP - 1 hour, 3 minutes ago

    HALIFAX, Canada (AFP) - Despite fierce public pressure to end the war in Afghanistan eight years on, politicians and experts on Saturday decried calls for setting an exit date they say would embolden the Taliban.

  • Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as 'Prachanda' greets his supporters on his arrival at a mass meeting during an anti-government protest rally in Kathmandu on November 13. Nepal's opposition Maoist party on Saturday announced a fresh, month-long round of anti-government protests, accusing the new administration of failing to address its demands.(AFP/File/Prakash Mathema)
    Nepal's Maoists announce fresh protests AFP - 1 hour, 28 minutes ago

    KATHMANDU (AFP) - Nepal's opposition Maoist party on Saturday announced a fresh, month-long round of anti-government protests, accusing the new administration of failing to address its demands.

Canada

  • Tories, Liberals slip as NDP surges: poll Reuters - Fri Nov 20, 9:00 PM ET

    TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Liberals both lost ground in a poll published on Friday as the left-leaning New Democrats enjoyed a surprising surge in public support.

  • Canada to have vaccine soon for half population Reuters - Fri Nov 20, 12:39 PM ET

    OTTAWA (Reuters) - Enough H1N1 flu vaccine for almost half of Canada's population will have been shipped out by the end of the next week, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said on Friday.

  • TD Bank hit with lawsuit in Florida Ponzi case Reuters - Fri Nov 20, 9:01 PM ET

    MIAMI (Reuters) - TD Bank was hit with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on Friday calling it the "financial epicenter" of an alleged Ponzi scheme run by disgraced Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein.

Australia/Antarctica News

  • This handout image released on the Nasa Earth Observatory website and taken on November 19 shows a thick plume of smoke billowing from the southern part of the Western Australia coast. Australia has issued "catastrophic" alerts after record-breaking temperatures and wild lightning storms sparked more than 100 fires across the country.(AFP/NASA/File/Modis)
    Australia issues 'catastrophic' alerts as fires rage AFP - Sat Nov 21, 11:00 AM ET

    SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has issued "catastrophic" alerts after record-breaking temperatures and wild lightning storms sparked more than 100 fires across the country, officials said Saturday.

  • Australian 50 dollar note, made of polymer, is seen in this file photo. Two executives at a banknote-making firm part-owned by Australia's central bank have been suspended over a police probe into alleged bribery and kickbacks, according to officials.(AFP/William West)
    Australia executives suspended over banknote probe AFP - Sat Nov 21, 3:08 AM ET

    SYDNEY (AFP) - Two executives at a banknote-making firm part-owned by Australia's central bank have been suspended over a police probe into alleged bribery and kickbacks, officials said.

  • File photo shows Greenpeace activists aboard an inflatable boat as a harpooned Minke whale is winched aboard a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean. Australia has said it is "deeply disappointed" after a fleet of vessels set out from Japan to kill hundreds of the giant ocean mammals on their annual hunt.(AFP/HO/File)
    Australia 'disappointed' at Japan whaling mission AFP - Fri Nov 20, 8:04 AM ET

    SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia said it was "deeply disappointed" after a fleet of Japanese whaling ships set out to kill hundreds of the giant ocean mammals on their annual hunt.

Most Popular World News

  • In this Aug. 12, 2000 file photo, The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, is shown at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy. A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus’ burial cloth. The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery. Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, file)
    Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin AP - Sat Nov 21, 1:24 AM ET

    ROME - A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery.

  • Resisdents of the village of Cockermouth, England, are seen being rescued from their homes by members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), who were mobilized to help the residents after heavy rain caused local flooding in the picturesque village, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. The Royal Air Force and RLNI rescue services have joined efforts to rescue around 200 people who are stranded by rising floodwater in the northern England tourist town.(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
    Floods devastate UK Lake District, much of Ireland AP - Fri Nov 20, 6:22 PM ET

    COCKERMOUTH, England - Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.

  • In this image provided by Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze shows a finger attributed to Galileo Galilei. A Florence museum says, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, two fingers and a tooth believed to belong to Galileo Galilei have been found and will go on display next spring. Three fingers and a tooth were taken from the astronomer's body in 1737 and placed in a container. Paolo Galluzzi, director of the Museum of the History of Science, said a private collector had bought a container at auction containing two fingers and a tooth. The collector contacted Florence cultural officials and the parts and the container were found to match descriptions of the Galileo relics in historical documents. Galileo, who died in 1642, was branded a heretic by the Vatican for saying the Earth revolved around the Sun. In the early 1990s, Pope John Paul II rehabilitated him. (AP Photo/Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze/ho)
    Museum: Galileo's fingers, tooth are found AP - Fri Nov 20, 10:53 PM ET

    ROME - Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday.